iOS What should be my next step to start coding?

[Noahian]

Hello World,

I am a 35 years old guy with a job and a child. Though i never coded anything serious in my life, it has always been inside me. Now after many years of laziness , i want to get my hand on some iOS programming. I really do not care much about writing codes that run on windows or mac. Just iPhone and iPad. 'Cos after many years, they have been the only devices elegant enough to ignite a spark in me.

Back in the commodore days, i knew a little basic. you know, the 10 print "name" 20 go to 10, dayz. And some qbasic in the early pc era. I think i've got the neurons to understand the basic algorithym behind a computer language. I've tried some visual basic in collage. I think it may have taught me something about object oriented programming (OOP), though i am not sure about it (When you place a label called label1 and set its text with ie. label1.txt = "blah blah", is it on a basic level associated with this thing called OOP?. Where maybe label is a class and label1 is its instance. Or is OOP a completely different thing?)

I now read a couple of tutorials on c++, about these classes, objects and stuff..

Now i think i can write a small code that, for example; asks for a number, than a second number and tells you the sum. But in windows, to do that, i just write the code in a main window and compile it. On the other hand, i could not even keep up with an article that explains how to print the word "hello word" on a plain screen on the iPhone (and it was supposed to be for the absolute beginner).

So many files with .m/.h extensions that i do not know what they do, statements about sone delegates and controllers and such.

Which book, site or article do you think will get me from here to coding the hello world app myself?

Thanx

PS: I have the mac, i have the phone, i have the pad..

 

[Shawnpk]

There are a few ways to go about learning iOS programming. There is a great course from Stanford University on iTunes that you may learn a lot from. Also, there are a ton of books you can read. A few books I like are this, this and this. These books will get you an understanding of C, Objective-C and iOS programming. It's up to you whether you want to start with C or Objective-C. Another good book is this.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

If you know C++, I assume you already know C. Forget everything about C++ that isn't in C, because it can't be used on the iPhone or other iOS devices.

Head over to iTunes U (it's a section of the iTunes store) and search for Stanford iOS. They have a series of 20 or so lectures, all of them free, each about 70 minutes long, that will teach you everything you need to know for all but the most advanced applications.

Happy programming

 

[Noahian]

If you know C++, I assume you already know C. Forget everything about C++ that isn't in C, because it can't be used on the iPhone or other iOS devices.

Can you verify this paragraph? I always thought otherwise. Doesn't c++ have a more object oriented approach, hence making it more similar to obj-c.


Edit : nevermind this entry. i read a couple of articles after i wrote this and now i see that obj-c is ansi c plus a different solution pack to OOP. So what you say now makes sense. Thanx.

Thanx artofwarfare and shawnpk. That was all i need to know. Off to download some podcasts now.

 

[(marc)]

If you know C++, I assume you already know C. Forget everything about C++ that isn't in C, because it can't be used on the iPhone or other iOS devices.

Can you verify this paragraph? I always thought otherwise. Doesn't c++ have a more object oriented approach, hence making it more similar to obj-c.

Noahian, you're right. If you've really understood C++, you've understood object orientation and you're very close to writing iOS apps. Also, C++ is used on iOS, for example in audio frameworks.

If you think you haven't completely understood object orientation, I'd suggest you start there. You can obviously do this with C++, but I'd recommend Java, which imo is easier as a beginner language.

Finally, get a book or two about Objective-C / Cocoa (you can find many threads about this here) and start writing iOS apps.

This approach prevents you from ending up as a copy&paste-programmer.

 

[lloyddean]

If you know C++, I assume you already know C. Forget everything about C++ that isn't in C, because it can't be used on the iPhone or other iOS devices.

I'll be nice and simply say this is not completely true, and yet not completely incorrect either.

C++ can be used in be used in iOS development, I do it all the time.

A more correct statement would be that it's difficult to do iOS development without at least some Objective-C which is required to access the CocoaTouch frameworks.

 

[1458279]

The Big Nerd book linked above is a great book. I don't know what Xcode version you're using, but I'm using 4 and most of the books aren't on version 4 yet. This is not a big deal, you'll still be able to understand it.

The Big Nerd book explains things in a very clear, nothing passed by, style. You'll like it.

Here's a free online book link:
http://www.techotopia.com/index.php/IPhone_iOS_4_Development_Essentials
It's pretty good and can get going pretty fast.

 

[North Bronson]

I'll be nice and simply say this is not completely true, and yet not completely incorrect either.

C++ can be used in be used in iOS development, I do it all the time.

A more correct statement would be that it's difficult to do iOS development without at least some Objective-C which is required to access the CocoaTouch frameworks.

I am pretty sure WebKit has a ton of C++ inside.

 

[lloyddean]

Indeed it does!